Derek Shelton Expresses Belief in Tommy Pham After More Late-Game Heroics

PITTSBURGH — Tommy Pham’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates hasn’t gotten off to an ideal start, but the veteran outfielder came up clutch again after a 2-1 win in 13 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon.

In a scoreless game in the top of the 10th inning, Tommy Pham threw out automatic runner Michael Siani at home plate on a Pedro Pagés single to left field.

Two innings later, Pham stepped to the plate with a runner on third base, two outs and the Pirates’ trailing by a run. The 37-year-old ripped a base hit to left on a first-pitch changeup off Steven Matz to tie the game at 1-all and push the game to the eventual decisive 13th frame.

“Big play, big throw,” manager Derek Shelton said after the win. “Sometimes we talk about having to keep the ball down for the cut, you’re not there. You gotta come up and it’s all or nothing. He did a good job. And then he comes up in a big spot with two outs in extra innings when we haven’t scored and he hits a first pitch.”

RBI Single in the bottom of the 12th to tie the game 1-1 by OF Tommy Pham @Pirates #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/sEy9Hr7sZY

— Pittsburgh Pirates Player Development Report (@PGHplayerDev) April 9, 2025

Through 13 games to begin his Pirates’ career, Pham has 6 hits in 40 at-bats, but two of those knocks have been in huge spots.

In addition to his game-tying single on Wednesday, Pham delivered the walk-off knock against the New York Yankees in the 11th inning on Saturday.

On the ninth-pitch of an at-bat against two-time All-Star Devin Williams, Pham hammered a changeup to the warning track in left field and getting the Pirates a much-needed win in the process.

“He’s off to a little bit of a rough start, but you look at two of the wins on this homestand and Tommy Pham is right in the middle of them,” said Shelton.

Raise the Jolly Roger!

Tommy Pham lines a walk-off single for the @Pirates. pic.twitter.com/p3X5mOXv4j

— MLB (@MLB) April 6, 2025

Pham’s first season with the Pirates is his 12th in the big leagues. The native of Las Vegas made his debut with the Cardinals in 2014 and has carved out a nice big-league career, especially for a 16th-round draft pick.

Pham has bounced around between 10 teams. He’s been to the playoffs five times and won a National League pennant with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023.

For his regular season career, Pham entered 2025 with a respectable .258/.346/.327 batting line, 985 hits, 183 doubles, 24 triples, 139 home runs, 470 RBIs and 126 steals in 1,121 games.

Though his Pirates’ tenure might not yet reflect what he’s done in his career, Shelton believes his track record will translate to better results in Pittsburgh.

“I think the thing we have to realize with Tommy Pham, you look at the back of the baseball card, he’s a good baseball player. He’s been doing this for a long time…He’s gonna be fine. That’s why guys play this long. That’s why you look at the back of baseball cards. That’s why you don’t worry about 11 games. He’s gonna get it going.”

The Pirates would benefit from a turnaround from Pham. Despite winning their latest game and two of their last three, they have received underwhelming production from the lineup.

As a team, the Pirates are still under the Mendoza Line with a .198 batting average, second worst in baseball. They are also second-to-last with a .301 slugging and have the fourth-worst OPS at .590.

Pham has been the Pirates’ leadoff hitter four times but has moved up and down the lineup so far. He hit eighth against St. Louis on Wednesday.

Wherever he’s penciled into the lineup on a given day, maybe Pham’s recent clutch stretch will help him break out of his slump and reward Shelton for his vote of confidence.